Tracey Fox of Thornley, England, called a repair company to come look at her broken washing machine in early December. They said they were booked until after the holidays. So when the guy finally showed up last week, Fox was relieved. Until he said that, despite the fact that the machine was under warranty, she should just buy a new one because it wasn't worth fixing. So Fox did the only logical thing, locking him in the laundry room and telling him she would let him out when it was fixed. An interesting plan, thwarted only by the invention of the cell phone. "It sounds stupid thinking about it now," she told the Daily Telegraph. But effective. No charges were filed and the company is sending her a new washer.

Bungling burglars

Hey, wait ... wasn't this a bank before?

Police in Nicholasville, Ky., say that a bank robbery was thwarted when the would-be robber failed to take one key factor into account: The building he was attempting to rob was no longer a bank. It might have been when he planned the heist, but Farmer's Bank left and the water district was there now. The Lexington Herald Leader reports that the man pulled a gun but left when told the bank had left. He wasn't the first to make the mistake. "We've had people come in here asking to cash a check," said office manager Diana Clark.

Hey wait ... this lobster is empty

Police in Montgomery County, N.Y., say that Walter Tessier, 57, returned his lobster to the Price Chopper market on Saturday. He told the store that it was bad, and asked for a bag of crab legs instead. The lobster was worth $11 and the crab $27, but to keep a customer happy, store officials were just about to comply. But then they noticed something about the lobster: It was empty. And as they confronted Tessier about the missing meat, he ran from the store with the crab. Deputies found him at his home but did not arrive in time to save the crab. Tessier was charged with petit larceny.

Hey wait ... I'm hiding under here

Police in Phoenix say that Shawn Holden tried to escape from a traffic stop. After giving police his license, the Arizona Republic reports, he bolted and decided that the best place to hide was under a truck owned by a moving company. Problem: Sometimes trucks move. Ran right over Holden. That made it much easier for police to catch him. He complained of back pain — a moving truck had just run over him — so he was taken to the hospital before he was taken to jail. He had been wanted on DUI-related charges.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.